Mail-pouch



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J. ,E. WELLS. MAIL POUCH.

No. 458,955. Patented Sept. 1.1891.

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J. E. WELLS.

MAIL POUCH.

No 458,955. Patented Sept. 1, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. WELLS, OF AUBURN, NINV YORK.

MAIL-POUCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 458,955, dated September 1, 1891.

Application filed June 5, 1891. Serial No. 395,257- (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES E. Warns, of Auburn, county of Cayuga, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Pouches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, in Which Figure 1 is a View of the upper portion of the pouch closed and locked. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the pouch unlocked and the flap thrown back. Fig. 3 is aplan' view showing the mouth of the pouch wide open. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4. i, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section of the same parts shown in Fig. 4 ina different position. Fig. (5 is a section lengthwise of the look to illustrate the operation of the interlocking projections on the plates.

' Fig. 7 is a plan of the lock with the front of the case removed. Fig. 8 is a section on line 8 8, Fig. 0. Fig. 9 is a detail. of the key.

My invention has for its object to produce a mail-pouch of simple and durable construction, which may be quickly closed and opened, and which when closed may be securely locked and sealed, so that any attempt to tamper with the pouch by unauthorized persons will be readily detected. It will first be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the features thereof then will be particularly pointed out in the claims at the close of this specification.

I will describe my invention as shown in the accompanying drawings, which embody the best form thereof now known to me.

A represents the pouch, which is preferably of leather, although, as will be clear, any suit able material may be employed, and it may be here noted that my invention may be readilyapplied to the form of mail-pouch which is now in use.

Across the front of the pouch, near the top, I secure by means of hinge-plates o the metallic strip (Z. Underneath the hinge-plates c I place the supplementary strip 0, which may be of leather, and which serves to hold the hinge-plates up from the pouch. The hingeplates and supplementary strip are securely riveted to the pouch. Each hinge-plate is provided with a perforation or slotf, and the supplementary strip a is preferably cut away,

as shown atf, under each of said perforations to permit the tongues or projections g to pass into the slots of the hinge-plates when 'the metallic strip (1 is closed in looking the forcing the tongues thereon through the slotsin the plates 7:, as also through the slots in the hinge-plates a. It will be clear that if the hinged metallicstrip (Z is then looked in its closed position the pouch will be securely fastened. For the purpose of thus locking said strip (Z I provide it with a lock, the case of which is shown at j, the bolt of said lock cooperating, when the pouch is loeked, with anotched post or projection 7a, which is rigidly secu red to the plate I, (see Fig. 8,) which also serves as a hinge-plate, and is riveted, as are the other hinge-plates, to the top of the pouch.

The lock is of simple construction, and consists of a bolt an, arranged to slide in the case j lengthwise thereof. This bolt may be provided with a spring 12, (see Fig. 7,) which tends to throw it out, and by this means the lock may be more quickly unlocked, although, as will be obvious, such a spring may or may not be employed. I prefer to use it, however, as by its use the lock is more quickly unlocked, the bolt flying back instantly when the key is applied. The bolt is secured in its locked position by means of tumblers or wards p, of which three are shown, but which may be increased or diminished-in numbers, as desired. These tumblers are pivoted in the case at g, (see Figs. (3 and 7,) and are slotted in the shape shown, the slots receiving a pin 1, which is fast to the bolt. hen tke tumblers are thrown up to the proper position by the use of akeyof the proper shape, the pin is free to travel lengthwise of the slots and the bolt is free to be thrown back by its spring.

In looking the punch it is only necessary to shove the bolt inwardly with the fingers, which may be readily done, owing to the peculiar shape of the slots in the tumblers, which are curved, as shown at 7c, Fig. 7, to permit the pin 1' to travel inwardly, pressing back the tumblers 13 until the bolt reaches the locking position, when the pin asnaps into place behind the retaining-shoulders m of the wards; The bolt is actuated in one direction by the spring, as heretofore explained, and in the other by the fingers of the operator, or it may be moved in both directions by the operator if a spring is not employed. The operation of locking cannot be performed with a key, the key not actuating the bolt in either direction, as will be clear. The end of the bolt which projects beyond the end of the case is provided with a plate 2, which serves to close the recess 10 in the front of the case, which is provided for the reception of acard which may have the destination of the pouch printed thereon or other information. It will be noted that this card covers the keyhole, and that it cannot be removed when the bolt of the lock is shoved in because the retaining-plate t then closes the opening by which the card is inserted or withdrawn. The card can only be withdrawn when the pouch is again unlocked, and to un lock the pouch the key must be inserted in the key-hole, thus puncturing the card. As will be clear, a new card is required each time the pouch is used. To indicate where the key-hole is located, two projections a (see Fig. 1) are provided, which are secured to the lock-case and project over the face of the card. Between these projections the key may be inserted. To further provide against any attempt to open the pouch by prying up the extreme ends of the metallic strip d, the plates h opposite the ends of said strip cl, or all of the plates h, if desired, may be provided with tongues or projections 11, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) which project inwardly from the edge of the slots in said plates, and which pass into the slots in the hinge-plates in the same manner as do the tongues g. By this arrangement if the ends of the metallic strip (1 should be forced back part way, as illus* trated by Fig. 5, the plates h could not be raised sufficiently to clear their tongues or projections b from the slots in the hingeplates, or if they were raised sufficiently for this purpose the tongues 9 would then be in the slots, so that the plates h could not be withdrawn. The plates h can only be withdrawn and the pouch opened by unlocking and throwing back the locking strip or bar (Z. As it is desirable to hang the pouch up with its mouth wide open when it is receiv: ing mail-matter, the strip d is pivoted at one or more points, as shown at d, so that the mouth of the bag may be extended into the position shown in Fig. 3.

The key is preferably of the shape shown in Fig. 9, and is rounded at its operative end, the rounded end being sharpened or brought to an edge, so that it may puncture the card on the. face of the lock readily and without detaching a portion of the card and forcing it into the lock, which might operate to clog the lock and render it inoperative. The key is not turned in the lock in the ordinary way to operate the tumblers; but it is simply used as a lever, the handle being thrown down, causing the tumblers to be thrown up against the action of their springs 19 into the unlocking position. This facilitates the unlocking of the pouch,because the key, which hangs where the operator may readily seize it, requires only to be inserted in the key-hole and pressed slightly downward, when the lock flies open and the key falls out. \Vhen the key has been forced downward sufficiently to open the lock, the fiat face a on the edge of the key beyond the bits thereof comes against the edge of the bolt which lies directly under the tumblers, as shown in Fig. 8, and the bolt is thus made a part of the combination.

It will be noted that the tumblers may be so arranged as to require a key of any peculiar shape, and the combination may be thus varied as much as in the lock of the well-known Yale or other standard type.

A curved projecting lip (shown at a Figs. 1, 2, and 3) is provided on the edge of the lock, which facilitates the unlocking and opening of the pouch and greatly increases the speed with which the operation may be performed.

What I claim is I 1. A mail-pouch provided on one side of the mouth thereof with alocking post or proj ection and having hinged to the said side of the mouth a fiat strip provided on one side thereof with projecting tongues, the said strip carrying a lock having a bolt for engagement with the locking post or projection, the pouch having secured to the opposite side of the mouth thereof plates slotted for the passage therethrough of the said tongues and locking post or projection, substantially as described.

2. A mail-pouch provided on one side of the mouth thereof with a locking post or proj ection and having hinged to the said side of the mouth a fiat strip provided on one side thereof with projecting tongues, the said strip being jointed at one or more points and thereby rendered flexible to permit the pouch to open wide, and carrying a lock having abolt for engagement with the locking post or projection, the pouch having secured to the opposite side of the mouth thereof plates slotted for the passage therethrough of the said tongues and locking post or projection, substantially as described.

3. A mail-pouch provided with a hinged metallic closing-strip secured to one side of the mouth or opening thereof and provided with tongues or projections and slotted co-operating plates to receive said tongues or projections, said plates being secured to the flap of said pouch, one or more of said (Jo-operating plates being provided with an inwardly-pro jecting lip adapted to look into a slot or recess in the hinge-plate of said metallic strip, as and for the purpose described.

41:. A mail-pouch provided with a lock secured to a hinged metallic strip, said lock having a recess in the front of the case to receive an address-card, said recess being closed by a plate secured to the bolt of the lock, whereby when the pouch is locked the address-card cannot be removed without unlocking the pouch and puncturing the card, substantially as shown and described.

5. A mail-pouch having a metallic strip hinged thereto, said strip being provided with tongues or projection-s, slotted hinge-plates with which said projections co-operate, and slotted plates secured to the flap thereof, whereby when the hinged strip is closed the projections thereon will pass through the slotted plates and through the hinge-plates, substantially as shown and described.

6. A mail-pouch provided with a lock having a recess in the face thereof to receive a card and having the bolt thereof provided with a retaining-plate, which closes the opening to said recess when the lock is locked, substantially as shown and described.

7. A mail-pouch having on one side of the mouth thereof a perforated plate and having on the other side of the mouth a locking post or projection to pass through the perforation of said plate, and also a lock hinged to the pouch and provided with a bolt for engagement with the post or projection, and also with tumblers co-operating with the bolt to retain it in locked position, the said bolt projecting through the ease of the lock and thereby being operable to move it to its looking position independently of a key, substantially as described.

8. A mail-pouch having on one side of the mouth thereof a perforated plate and having on the other side of the mouth a locking post or projection to pass through the perforation of said plate, and also a lock hinged to the pouch and provided with a bolt for engagement with the post or projection, with tumblers co-operating withthe bolt to retain it in locked position, the said bolt projecting through the case of the look and thereby being operable to move it to its locked position independentlyof a key, and with a key taking a fulcrum against the case to cause it to act by a straight tilting movement to shift the tumblers to their unlocking position, substantially as described.

JAS. E. ELLS.

Witnesses:

WM. A. MAoLEoD, CHARLES R. WELLs. 

